Here is some useful information and tips about on culture that visitors and tourists to Uganda or Kenya,dress, food, customs,language,romance,love and more
When 2 different cultures meet, there is bound to be surprises about the different ways of doing things and misinterpretations of behaviour and practices. The misunderstanding is as a result of each group looking at things from their own perspective. This is called culture shock. When you meet Ugandans you will have lots of puzzles, questions and unanswered questions, your willingness to understand will determine what is to happen next. You need to try and understand or ask to avoid coming to wrong conclusions. But even when you understand there will still be things you view as unagreeable. Your job as a visitor is not to change the behaviour of Ugandans or to become Uganda but just try to adapt to the system and be able to work with in it for the duration you are visiting.
If a Ugandan came to live in your home, what would they find “strange?” Would they be able to change it? Possibly best to just try and adapt to it.
Here are some basics you need to know.
Uganda has about 56 ethnic groups and about 40 different languages. This means about 4o different cultures and a lot more subcultures. The differences in the ethnic groups make Uganda a “multicultural society” that is a culture with lots of subcultures. Due to influences of other cultures like America and Europe and Asia, Uganda s changing rapidly so depending who you meet and talk to you might find many different pictures of Uganda.
Time: The concept of time varies between industrialised and agriculturalised societies like Uganda. Europeans view time in terms of seconds and minutes, Agricultural societies view time in terms of seasons and periods or stretches of work routine. Ugandans count time in terms of day light and darkness. Being on the equator, there are equal day light and darkness hours. For a Ugandan a day begins at 7:00 which is counted as hour one, 8:00 is hour two and so on until 18:00 which is the twelveth hour in the day. Then 19:00 is the first hour of the night and 20:00 is the second hour of the night and so on. When a European says Monday morning at two o’clock to a Ugandan its 8 hours on Monday morning.
Don’t ask distances in Uganda in terms of hours it takes to get to a place, due to poor transport means it may take longer.
Most deadlines in Uganda can be extended until they can be done.
Mzungu: Muzungu is a term borrowed from Kiswahili to mean “white person” Muzungu is not a racist term, People in Europe will pretend not to notice your different colour but in Uganda people will say what they see but with no intention to offend. Mzungu also can mean “some one who lives a comfortable life style” Its common to find Ugandans called Mzungu if they are wealth or good time keepers and so on.
Prayer: Most Ugandans say prayers before they eat in most homes. It is a Christian practice introduced by the British and French missionaries. Most people will assume that every white person is Christian, so expected to pray when needed to.
Food: Ugandans are very generous people. It’s impolite and embarrassing if you visit some one’s home and they don’t give you something to eat. You don’t have to eat all you are given on a plate, leaving some food on a plate shows you have had enough, if you eat it all, you will be given more food with out the host asking if you need more. Its rude in Uganda to ask a guest if they need a drink or food.
Hand washing: Most Ugandans don’t use folks and spoons to eat, so every one washes their hands before meals. The kitchen is out of bounds to visitors a young boy or girl pours water out of a jar for every one to wash their hands or in a small basin. This is common in villages and as I say it is done for hygiene reasons.
Milk and sugar: Generally Ugandans will serve their guests tea with milk and allot of sugar. The guest will only be given black tea of the host has run out of milk. Black tea is called “ Kyai omukalu” or “ dry tea” so not taking milk or sugar in your tea may surprise your host
Meat: Meat is a delicacy in Uganda. It is usually served to show kindness and politeness to a guest. As I said people will not ask if you eat meat before they serve it as its not common to meet people who are vegetarian. If you say you don’t eat meat, you may be offered medication or herbs to help cure you as the host will automatically assume you are sick or have an allergy of some sort. Its acceptable to be vegetarian for religious reasons than for animal rights as the case is in Europe.
Green vegetables are associated to poverty so they will not normally be served to a guest.
Funerals and death: When some one dies in the community, every one is expected to take part in the funeral, no invitation is ever given for such events. In most cultures death is associated to evil and if you don’t go to a funeral you may be blamed to have cause the death of the neighbour or who ever it is that has died. Going to the funeral shows you are part of the community and you share their sorrow.
Politeness and speech: Most languages have a way of showing politeness and politeness may not always be shown by saying “please” In Luganda some times politeness is showed by the tone in your voice and not really by what you say. For example in Luganda when some one says “ Mpa Sente” politeness will be showed by the first word mpa if translated in English it translates as “Give me money” which to an English person would sound rude but its not.
Family: The word extended family is not used in Uganda. A typical family is made of Parents, uncles, aunts, grand parents, cousins, nieces and nephews. The word cousin in Luganda is brother or sister. There is closeness in Ugandan families not common in the west. Relationships and kin ships in Uganda come with responsibility and duties to be performed by family members especially in times of crisis or need. Family members are expected to provide, financial and physical support to others so its common to find sons and daughters supporting their parents and other extended members of the family.
Children: Its common in Europe to see on hotel accommodations “ NO Children or pets” To a Ugandan that is weird and strange. It is also unbelievable that some times more value is attached to animals than human being. In Uganda children are special and are to be treasured. Children offer security to parents when they are older, some people believe childlessness is a curse and the woman most times takes the blame for it.
Children are expected to participate in house work, fetching water, collecting fire wood, looking after animals and caring for their siblings.
Privacy: There is allot of interdependency in Uganda because it is a communal society. You have family, clan, tribe and all these work together for the good of any individual. The Ugandan view of privacy is different to the European one. In Europe when you are not well, you often want to be alone, in Uganda when you are not well, people will be with you, when you fall sick, friends, family and relatives MUST visit you to give you company. It s very unusual for some one to say they want to be alone. So when a visitor says they want to be alone, the host will want to be with them because they think you mean you are lonely or home sick and you need company. It’s rude to send visitors away in Uganda so often people will come unannounced and stay for as long as they wish.
Houses with gates: In Villages most homes have temporary structures and no fences or boundaries. It’s common in villages to find houses with doors open all day. It’s different in cities and towns, people feel insecure and due to corruption and theft, people put walls round their homes for security. The walls are also a sign of affluence.
House help: It’s common in Uganda for people to have house helper or servants. This gives people jobs because of high unemployment in Uganda. Most domestic helpers do it to raise money for their study, their siblings or families.
Dressing: The way one dresses in Uganda is important. In some hotels blue jeans and caps will not be allowed and inappropriate dress and appearance can cause embarrassment. People in Uganda love to dress well and look smart. A host will be offended if you dress very casually for a special occasion or function.
Compliments: Ugandans will down play compliments because a compliment is assumed to be a mark of vanity, but Ugandans like to be complimented.
Pets: Most Ugandans don’t have pets and respect for them is very rare. Dogs are kept to guard homes and keep thieves and unwanted people away, cats are kept to kill rats in the home but they are never held in high regard in a home
Urinating: It’s common to see people urinating by the road side. This is not a cultural Ugandan practice; it is a behaviour that some people have turned into a habit. In the west you can go to a restaurant to use the toilet, in Uganda most restaurant toilets will be reserved for customers and there are not public toilets so people resort to help them selves by the road side.
Romance: Most Ugandans think white women are loose. This is because of the media, movies, magazines, and adverts which often potray white women as sexy and easily involved in all sorts of sexual practices. Most Ugandan men believe that a man’s advance to a woman should never be refused or rejected. You need to show strong signals to show you are not interested din a man as there is a common belief that is a woman say no some times they mean try harder. If you are a woman and you are invited to dinner or lunch with a man you don’t really know, its best to take a third person with you. Ugandan women traditionally would never make advances on me, if you do it; you risk being seen as loose. Ugandan men find it difficult when a woman makes advances on them. If you are thought to be loose, most men will use you and they will tell their friends to try their luck to use you and take advantage of you.
Dating: Dating is a new concept in Uganda. In Uganda having a boy friend or girl friend is interpreted as having sexual relationship with them. Culture discourages pre-marital sex.
Washing: Many visitors to Uganda easily get house helpers when in Uganda, although the house helper can wash your cloths, it’s culturally unacceptable to make them wash your underwear, although if you ask them they will say its ok. Do not dry your underwear in the open where people can see it, people find it uneasy and inappropriate.
Women sitting: In Uganda, women don’t sit with their legs open. Ugandans consider it impolite to show your underwear or inner thighs when you sit. Even when you are wearing trousers its expected that you keep your legs together when you sit. Girls are trained in Uganda from an early age not to sit with their legs apart.
Public display of affection: It’s acceptable in Europe for people to kiss in public; in Uganda it’s not acceptable except at weddings. If you kiss and hold hands in public you are considered obscene especially in rural areas. If you get close to a Uganda, touching and holding hands will be and indication that you want to have sex with them.
I hope this gives you an idea of what to expect on your trip.
